Kendall was trapped at the edge of the ledge with nowhere to go. The animal made a lunge for him and Kendall lost his balance. The animal made contact and rebounded off of Kendall and landed back on the ground, sending Kendall tumbling off the ledge. Kendall panicked for his life and managed to grip the ledge in a last ditch effort but he only had one hand gripping and he couldn't reach up with his other one. He soon lost his grip and yelled as he fell 15ft and splashed into the water. Katie heard the splash but his yell was so quick and echoed off the cavern wall that it mixed with his splash.

"Shadow!" Katie called out her pet's name. She thought he had fallen off the ledge and ran over to the rippled water as best she could be for reaching the deep section and swimming the rest of the way. It was dark and she couldn't see but she was panicked as she felt for her dog with her feet and her hands. She surfaced for a breath and looked for him on the surface but he hadn't come up. Her heart was beating out of her chest in fear but then she heard him yelp at the top of the cliff. She looked up with relief to see him staring down at her. "Oh my god, Shadow, you scared me! Come down from there!" She yelled up and he ran down to her fairly quickly, meeting her at the edge of the pool as she swam back to the shallow area to finish her bath.

She sat on a rock that was slightly submerged underwater as ran the cool water over her. She had some fresh bruises from earlier when she went into town to fetch Shadow on an incoming shipment. She spared no expense to make sure that Shadow didn't get lost in transit like some piece of luggage and splurged on a fancy pet travel agency. He arrived about a half day after she did, once Kendall left, Katie ate some of her fish, not really all that hungry and saved the rest for her pup. She then exited the way Kendall had stumbled in and dug out her car from all of the overgrown bramble and drove it into town to pick up Shadow and some fresh snacks and other food.

She had run into Walter on the way through town as she walked along the shopping strip. He had been waiting for her, knowing she was returning and he wasted no time in cornering her in an alley way and threatened her and gave her a few smacks. He was losing popularity and had no source of income while she 'played lazy' in her home state. Katie fought back but he threw her to the ground and took what money she had before ditching her in the alley. She got up and dusted herself off and walked with a high head although sore and bleeding from somewhere. She was wearing dark clothes so she wasn't worried about it seeping through too much. She picked up Shadow and drove back to her humble abode, taking extra care that no one was following her.

Kendall had surfaced on the other side of the pond a while ago now and was fine, just wet and a little shaken at the whole ordeal. After he gained his composure, he spotted Katie in the distance, the pond wasn't all that large so he had a good image of her. In the light he could see her battered body shine as the water rolled off her otherwise perfect skin. He was entranced a bit as he watched her bathe in the moonlight before coiling back in embarrassment at what he was doing. He shook the image from his head as he felt his cheeks grow warm and red. His shuffling caught Shadow's attention and he growled in dominance as he ran straight at Katie. Shadow hated going near water so when he plowed through it to get to her, she knew something was up. Shadow continued to growl and pointed at the other side of the pond but Katie didn't see anything and Shadow quickly died down after hearing silence himself.

He stood on the rock where Katie sat, too timid to go back across the water. Katie finished up and felt relaxed. She stayed in the water for a little more, giving Shadow some comforting attention before urging him back across. He jumped from the rock, halfway to the shore and quickly ran through the rest of the water before shaking off the excess and burrowing his head to the ground to dry his head. Katie took a quick swim to wash the dog fur off before surfacing and wandering over to the shore after her pup. Shadow stopped burrowing and stood at attention at the path; he put his nose in the air and huffed as he pointed with concern from Katie to the path. She wasn't really looking so Shadow just kept watch before howling and startling her. She jumped at his howl and quieted him down but he went into a defense mode. She made it to shore, slipping into her sandals and walking to the tree to grab her towel when she ran into what Shadow had been alerting too.

"Ahhhh!" she screamed before jumping back into the water to try to cover herself.

"Katie! It's me, Kendall!" he said as he came out from the tree. He had a hand out in front of him, feeling his way around, his other hand covering his eyes.

"Kendall?! What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded as she covered her chest and sunk into the water.

"I got lost and somehow managed to find the entrance at the top. I thought I was just heading down the mountain but then I saw all of your stuff. I saw your clothes hanging from the tree so I knew you were showering so I went to turn around and I ran into an animal which I guess was your dog. He chased me up the ledge and knocked me off of it. I fell just behind you and tried to swim away and made it to the back. I followed the path back over here when I saw you getting out. I didn't mean to scare you and I didn't mean to spy on you, I'm really sorry! I didn't see anything if it helps any." He pleaded, eyes still covered.

"It's fine I guess…no harm done I suppose. Just turn around so I can get out."

"Yeah, sure." he said as he spun around without hesitation.

He listened as Katie got out of the water and he actually felt a few drops hit the back of his legs. He felt the wind of the towel pass him and heard it move around before she grabbed her other clothes. She got dressed quickly even though she wasn't dry just to lessen the chance of being exposed to him again. She took his word that he didn't see anything and with the dark of the night, it sounded plausible; she didn't want to talk about the events nor her bruises that she hoped he didn't see. This was what she didn't want to have to explain.

Kendall spent the night with Katie in the spacious tent and Katie would lead him out in the morning and drive him to wherever he needed to be on her way to the studio. He offered to go with her but she declined at first, then offered to wait and see how things might go when she got up. She fell asleep rather quickly but Kendall was restless; he was nervous about everything that was going on and he had so many questions that needed to be answered. He fell asleep for a few hours before the early morning sun kept him awake.

He looked over to Katie who was sound asleep, slightly falling out of the cushioned sleeping bag. He could see her bruises peeking out from the bunched up areas of her clothes. Shadow was sleeping in the tent over and he heard Kendall rustling around and came to investigate. He was friendly enough now that Katie was calm and welcoming with Kendall. He said good morning to Kendall who gave him some pets before Shadow nudged his way out the tent flap and stretched his legs. He got himself some water from the stream and relieved himself on some nearby bushes before curling up just outside the flap and getting some more rest as he waited for Katie to get up. Kendall crawled over Katie to exit the tent himself, taking a stroll down another path to find a bathroom himself. Shadow kept his position and watched from afar as Kendall did his thing.

The hot LA sun warmed up the tent quickly and Katie soon became uncomfortable which forced her awake. She was decently rested so she didn't mind getting up, she stretched and sat up to find the tent empty, she thought for a moment that maybe last nights events were just a dream but as soon as she got out of the tent, she saw Kendall in the distance walking back to her.

"Morning, Katie!" Kendall greeted

"Good Morning. Sleep well?" she replied

"Not really but I got enough. I'm just not used to sleeping on the ground, plus I was a bit freaked that your dog was right next door…Not really too trusting after he chased me off a ledge."

"Sorry about that, he was just protecting me in my vulnerable state. He's my good boy." she cooed to her pup who still sat at the entrance of the tent. "Ready to go?"

"You're not getting dressed?"

"Nah, I got some extra clothes at the studio. Want to stop for some breakfast somewhere?"

"Sure, what do you feel like having?"

"I don't need to be anywhere until noon so it doesn't matter to me."

"Alright, let's go to ihop or something and have a sit down breakfast."

"That sounds good to me! Come on, let's get going." she said.

Kendall followed her up the ledge and pulled himself up after her as they made their way up the short but steep incline. At the top under a pile of brush, sat Katie's car which blended into the scenery nicely due to its green color. Kendall hopped into the passenger seat and Katie opened up the back door for Shadow who was sniffing his way up the hill slowly. He was a good climber and didn't need much help jumping up the short cliff ledge, even though Katie was a bit nervous in his old age. She called him and he ran to her, jumping into the back seat with force.

Ihop was the first place they came across and Katie pulled right in. It was the middle of the week and still early so it wasn't busy. Katie left the windows rolled down and Shadow took a nap as he waited for them to finish. It was nearly 2 hours before they finished and they spent much of the time talking about anything and everything, letting time slip away without even realizing it. They were alone in a corner of the restaurant so they had the freedom to talk in private. Katie still didn't talk too much about what was going on in her life but Kendall knew she wasn't telling him everything; she would tell when she was ready and he'd be there for her. They both learned just how much in common they had with each other; their love for animals, their shyness, caring personalities, humor and most of the same hobbies and interests. Katie was glad that she was making knew friends and told Kendall how difficult it was to make friends now that her friend Jess was onto bigger and better things. Katie was still ahead of the game with having her own show, but it wasn't a race; and besides, the secrets Katie was hiding were almost not worth it.

It soon started to get busier and Katie had to get going to prepare for her meeting at the studio. She dropped Kendall off at his house inside a nice gated community, he had Katie sign an approved guest list so she could come and go as she pleased in case she ever needed him or wanted a nice warm bed to sleep in and a home cooked meal. He gave her a hug goodbye and waved as she drove off to town.

"She's a nice girl, son." the old security guard said. "You two make a nice couple."

"Oh, we arent together. Jut friends." he corrected.

"Shame, I think she's a nice young lady for a guy like you. Girl's like her are hard to find these days." he chuckled, giving Kendall a reassuring pat on the back. Kendall stared into the distance at nothing just thinking to himself.

"Mom, I'm home!" Kendall called as he entered the house.

"Kendall! There you are, where have you been!?" she demanded

"it's a long story. Sorry I didn't call, my phone died and I had no place to charge it." he replied

"I've been worried sick about you!" she yelled

"Don't worry mom, I'm fully capable of taking care of myself, I am an adult now after all. All of us are, we arent those 15 year old hockey players anymore, we're 22 year old men with professional acting and singing careers." he stated

"Well, where were you?" she asked

"I stayed at a friends place." he answered

"Well as long as your in one piece and not getting into any trouble…You still live in my house though and you should live by my rules regardless of how old you are!" she lectured

"Sorry Mom. I'll try to be more on top of things. Things just got a little out of hand yesterday and I was just to tired and too busy to do anything." Kendall replied

"Hmm." she sighed. She watched as he retreated to his room to change, noticing the dirt covering his shirt and skin. She didn't ask and just figured he was playing rough with what ever friend he stayed with last night. "Kendall I want those clothes in the laundry right away. Bring them out here before you get in the shower."

"Sure. I was planning on taking a nap, I didn't sleep much last night." he replied

"Shower first, you have a photo shoot this after noon." she ordered

"Aww man!" he countered

"Don't complain, Mister, just get your butt in the shower and then you can sleep all you want." she said.

"Fine." he replied.

He retreated to his room and got undressed before tossing his clothes out the door in a heap and heading to his awaiting shower. The warm water felt good and he was getting sleepy as he relaxed although his mind was buzzing with thoughts about everything that happened in the last 24 hours. He tried picturing Katie living in that hole for what appeared to be months. It broke his heart that this was happening to her, he just wish he knew the whole story, he hated jumping to conclusions.